What’s new in the small boat technosphere? Here’s my end-of-2022 review of equipment that might be useful for the next sailing season…
Satellite Communicators
It’s now been more than a decade since satellite communication for long-distance hikers and boaters became feasible. DeLorme designed and sold the first generation of “inReach” satellite communicators beginning in 2012. Five years later, after Garmin acquired DeLorme, they introduced their own inReach Explorer devices; and Garmin followed that up with the lighter weight, lower priced inReach Mini. Although each of these devices provided decent two-way (“duplex”) worldwide communication of text, status, and emergency “S-O-S” messages, they also had limitations: the Garmin Mini was compact, but texting could be frustrating and slow; and the Explorer handhelds only supported DeLorme’s topo maps, no navigation charts. But in the fall of 2019 Garmin introduced two inReach-capable GPS handhelds, including one model, the GPSMAP 86sci, that came preloaded with BlueChart coastal navigation charts.
Fast forward to 2022, and in the spring Garmin rolled out their inReach Mini-2, a significant redesign of the original Mini although the footprint, weight, and operation are nearly identical. Since its introduction in 2018, the inReach Mini was dinged for its clunky operator interface, slow connectivity, and the challenge of texting using its low-resolution display and composing a message one letter at a time. If you were willing to carry it, a Bluetooth-linked cell phone or tablet saved a lot of angst.
The revised Mini-2 still works best when paired with a smartphone, but it has a new “widget” interface that is more user-friendly and a higher resolution display than the original inReach Mini. The Mini-2 can also receive three more global navigation satellite (GNSS) networks, in addition to GPS satellites, for quicker location acquisition and faster message transmission, and it has an electronic compass that’s accurate even when stationary. The Mini-2 is much more frugal with power than the original Mini; it is capable of transmitting tracking locations at 10-minute intervals for 14 continuous days, assuming ideal satellite reception and “standard activity recording.” For comparison, the original Mini will run for only about 4 days (or 90 hours) under the default 10-minute tracking conditions. You can also use the Mini-2 to plan and to help follow a route; it can tell you when you’re off track. And since it passively collects location information as you travel, which can provide a real-time “bread crumb” trail to backtrack a route to the starting point. And the track record is stored and can be downloaded later.
Together with the improved inReach Mini-2 communicator, Garmin released a new app called Messenger that is compatible with it, but not with any of the previously-released inReach devices. Using the Messenger app, the Mini-2 can be controlled by a smartphone, which can then seamlessly switch between Wi-Fi, cellular, and satellite service, and thereby save on satellite message usage and costs. This is similar to how the Zoleo satellite communicator, which was designed from the get-go to be paired up with a smartphone, operates. Just like Garmin’s inReach devices, Zoleo communicators, which debuted in 2020, can also send an emergency “S-O-S” message to call for GEOS rescue services (and they use the Iridium satellite network). But Zoleo devices list for $200, or half the cost of a Garmin inReach Mini (and Mini-2), and they quickly captured the market for a compact, low-cost, minimal satellite communicator with more economical subscription service plans.
In response to the Zoleo communicator’s success, Garmin released a new inReach device, called the inReach Messenger, in the fall of 2022. It looks like and in many ways is comparable to the Zoleo satellite communicator. But it’s smaller (3.1 x 2.5 x 0.9 inches) and lighter—it weighs only 4 ounces—than the competition. And Garmin’s Messenger communicator has more features, and significantly longer battery life.
Although designed for pairing with cell phones, both the inReach Messenger and the Zoleo communicators can also be used in standalone mode if the phone dies—but the Garmin device has more functionality if that happens. The inReach Messenger has the same improved “widget” interface that’s now used with the revised Mini-2. The Messenger can, just like the Mini-2, also use many Garmin watches as the operator interface—a cell phone is not required. It sports a small but readable LCD display for getting weather reports, for sending a message, and for changing its configuration options, even while in standalone mode. The inReach Messenger’s super low power consumption allows it to send tracking messages at ten minute intervals for 28 days—twice as long as the Mini-2. And it has a bidirectional USB-C port, so if your smartphone runs out of juice, the Messenger can recharge it enough to still use it as the operator interface.
Both inReach Messenger and Zoleo communicators can transmit a “check-in” or a “S-O-S” distress message in standalone mode. But Zoleo needs to pair up with a smartphone (or tablet) to generate two-way messages while the Messenger can, with effort, send text solo. Both can get weather reports for your smartphone; Messenger can do it solo. The current specs indicate that Zoleo’s battery will keep it active for about 8 days (200 hours), which is quite a bit shorter than the inReach Messenger’s battery life of 28 days. Since real-time tracking is not the Zoleo’s primary function, it’s probably helpful to leave it off except when actually transmitting or receiving messages or weather reports. In contrast, the inReach Messenger is capable of sending three pre-configured messages (e.g., “start day,” “check-in,” and “end day”), which are not counted as subscription messages, a very useful feature. There were no product announcements from Zoleo during 2022. Garmin’s new inReach Messenger will challenge them for the low-cost, compact satellite communicator market, and I think we’ll see a response from Zoleo before too long. But based on Garmin’s past track record, we can reasonably anticipate that they will continue to introduce new and improved inReach devices.
With the recent product introductions from Garmin, we’ve now got a nice selection of Iridium-based options and capabilities across a wider range of prices. The updated inReach Mini-2 lists for $400. And while the earlier Mini looks like it will be discontinued, it’s still available and lists for $350 (and West Marine is selling Minis at a $300 clearance price at the end of the end of 2022). If you want or need longer battery life, spend the extra and buy a Mini-2. Although the new Garmin Messenger lists for $299, it was selling for $249 during the Christmas holidays, which is still more than the Zoleo satellite communicator. On the other end of the Garmin price range, the top-of-the-line GPSMAP 86sci handheld GPS with inReach communications and BlueChart navigation lists for $650. Whatever the price of the inReach device, all of them require a subscription to use them, so the actual operating costs will depend largely on the specific service, features, and usage.
After seeing all the product roll-outs at Garmin, what’s new at SPOT, the granddaddy of satellite trackers and emergency messengers, and the main competitor to inReach and Zoleo? The first SPOT trackers were introduced in 2007, became famous as required equipment for adventure races like the Everglades Challenge, and were and still are sold by big outfitters such as REI and West Marine. SPOT has their own proprietary Globalstar satellite network, and it is used primarily to track their devices (most of them by “simplex,” or one-way, communication) around the world. In addition to near real-time tracking, SPOT devices can also send check-in, emergency “S-O-S,” and custom messages (but only one custom message that must be pre-configured before heading out).
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Small Craft Advisor to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.